Where have I been and what have I done? Aside from my monthly ‘what I’m doing in the garden’ posts, which have proved to be an invaluable resource for future me as I stand in a large chaotic garden wondering what to do next, I seem to have left off in the middle of the winter moaning about how hard it is to garden here. … Continue reading Where have I been and what have I done?
Is it too late to say Happy New Year? Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and festive season salutations! As the first Monday of a fresh new year, it feels like the perfect time to start afresh. It always feels a little odd to be calling a fresh start when we’re in the middle of a growing season – but it is what it is, and … Continue reading Is it too late to say Happy New Year?
The spring cleaning continues. As we enter the early days of spring, nothing much has changed in the garden. It is always my intention to be so productive over the winter months that the moment the season changes I can waft about the garden doing spring things like sowing seeds, pulling the occasional weed, smelling the daffodils and throwing myself into some kind of fun … Continue reading The spring cleaning continues.
What am I growing this season. Part One. With less mouths to feed, thanks to an empty nest, some would say my garden is too big. I think I would say my garden is too big. No one needs four zucchini plants, especially when there is just the two of you – no matter how pretty all the different varieties will look together on the … Continue reading What am I growing this season. Part One.
Watermelon Jam I recently pulled the plug on my melon garden. The melons were ready, and the plants were exhausted from their efforts. It didn’t help that this was one of the most windswept garden beds with sightlines to the ocean through the front gate. I have a stable door style gate with windbreak on the top half, although it isn’t often closed and the … Continue reading Watermelon Jam
Best Valentine’s Day ever! I’m honestly not sure how we are going to top this, and it all revolved around the garden. I have been on a mission to showcase the vegetables I grow in the meals I make. I’m a gardener well ahead of being a cook in terms of priorities, passion and ability. I revel in bringing forth life from bare soil and … Continue reading Best Valentine’s Day ever!
New Year is a state of mind. It is all very well to treat the new year as a fresh start when you are in between seasons like all the wonderful gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere. The previous season behind them, with lessons learnt from the successes and failures and all the hope and expectation of a new season just around the corner. While the … Continue reading New Year is a state of mind.
Tomatoes are the Star In my opinion, in a summer garden – of all the wide range of plants that can be grown, the tomato is the superstar. The one that just owns the season. Sweetcorn could come in a close second if it wasn’t for the fact that in spite of their sunny yellow disposition, which can be stored in the freezer to bring … Continue reading Tomatoes are the Star.
ONE WEEK OF WINTER LEFT This year has whizzed by, and the fun is about to start. There is a lot of anticipation and expectation this season, probably more so than ever after the disappointment of last time. There was just too much rain. My hope that things will be different this year is due to the shift from a soggy La Nina to a … Continue reading One week of winter left
A pinch and a punch for the first of the month and no returnsies. (Such a strange tradition!) But here we are celebrating the start of a new season. As much as I can’t believe we have arrived at March already having lived through the first two months of this year that still feels quite new. Ordinarily I would be bemoaning the fact that it … Continue reading Welcome to Autumn
